Ridge Meadows Recycling Society has been ranked the second best oil recycling operation in the province.
On Wednesday, March 23, BC Used Oil Management Association (BCUOMA) presented the society an award and honoured them for their exemplary performance and commitment to the collection of used oil and antifreeze materials across the province throughout 2021.
This was time two that the local society bagged the second spot in the annually released ranking.
Kim Day, executive director of the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society, credited residents of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows for their efforts towards contributing to a healthy environment.
“It is the residents who made it possible,” she said.
“Over the past two years, the pandemic has significantly affected how our used oil recycling centres have been able to operate their businesses. However, I’m extremely proud at how resilient they have been during these challenging times, and how well they have continued to provide their customers with safe, easy to use, and convenient facilities where they can return their used oil and antifreeze materials,” said David Lawes, BCUOMA’s chief executive officer.
The Victoria-based not-for-profit association ranked the City of Burnaby Eco-Centre as the top collector. Victoria’s Hartland Landfill took the third spot.
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For the second year in a row, the association also selected one “outstanding” recycling centre as the most improved for increasing its collection of used oil and antifreeze materials by the largest percentage.
While Lawes shared that the association does not release the numbers on the volume of oil collected by each facility, to avoid unnecessary competition, he said that the local recycling depot is a “fantastic” facility.
He congratulated all the collectors and encouraged them to continue to look for opportunities to upgrade and improve recycling facilities.
“Our top collectors went above and beyond by upgrading their infrastructures to make collection more environmentally friendly, educating their customers about used oil recycling, installing new informational signage, and promoting used oil and antifreeze recycling in their communities,” he said.
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All of the antifreeze collected by the collectors across the province is currently recycled into new antifreeze.
“And this cycle can continue indefinitely without any quality sacrifices,” said Lawes.
In 2021, 68 per cent of the used motor oil collected by the registered collectors was refined into new ready-for-sale lubricating oil. The remaining 32 per cent of collected, used oil was processed and sold as a new product.
Lawes believes that purchasing recycled oil and antifreeze is a step people can take to help close the loop and shift to a circular economy.
Lawes added that he is honoured to work with such a dedicated group of business owners and managers across British Columbia who are passionate about providing their customers with great service while also focusing on the environment.
“These awards are our way of thanking the top collectors in the province for continuing to do an excellent job.”
Started in 1972, as a volunteer group collecting newspapers, the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society grew along with the recycling movement. The society now works in partnership with the City of Maple Ridge, providing recycling and blue box pickup to local residents, operating the Maple Ridge Recycling Depot and processing facility, and providing environmental education and outreach to schools and the community.
The recycling depot is located at 10092 236th St., off River Road, in Albion. For more information, people can call 604-463-5545.
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